Devices that model the appearance and simulate the movement of land or sea animals include ornaments, decoys, lures, and wind direction indicators. Such devices (such as figurines) generally fall into one of four categories: (1) those that rotate about a rod, (2) those that appear as stationary silhouettes, (3) those having bodies that sway or bounce in the wind, or (4) those that undulate in the wind.
Referring to the first three categories identified above, there have been numerous designs employed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,953 to McKinney discloses a fowl decoy whose body is pivotally connected to a stand and whose neck and body are connected together with a mechanism including tension strings. The mechanism is complex and must be installed in the body of the fowl by an assembler. A string tied to the mechanism is tugged and relaxed by a remotely positioned person. However, if pulling the string is discontinued, the decoy just stands there looking like an unanimated decoy.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,063 to Heiges discloses a decoy simulating a fowl having a neck fastened at a first end to a ball that is set in the decoy body for universal movement, and fastened to a rotatably mounted head of the fowl at a second end. The neck is comprised of a long multiple-turn tightly wound helical spring with a plastic sheet around it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,942 to Lanius has the head and neck of a fowl decoy pivotally connected to a body. A cord is attached to the head of the decoy and the cord has a weight fastened to it which tends to restore the neck of the decoy to its high position. A person situated remotely may tug on a string to cause the neck and head to bow. When the string tension is relieved the weight restores the neck and head to an upright attitude.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,654 to Denny discloses a wild fowl decoy such as a turkey, the body of which contains electric motors that are operatively coupled to the head and neck. The motors are actuated by electric signals from a remote transmitter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,747 to Skwarek discloses a wind indicator having multiple sections including a tail section for catching wind, a front section for indicating the direction of the wind, a tail mounting section, a joiner for joining the tail mounting section with the front section, vanes for catching the wind, projections that fit into disk type structures, and a pole upon which the assembly rotates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,288 to Payne et al. discloses a decoy resembling an animal. Parts of the decoy's anatomy, such as the neck, head, ears, and tail are connected in a pivotable articulated manner to the main body. String is connected to the body parts which move if the string is tugged. The body parts are restored to a resting position as a result of being connected to the ends of rubber bands having ends anchored to the body. Unless the string is tugged and relaxed, the decoy has little advantage over a figurine. The construction is complex and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, its complexity and several moving parts increase the likelihood of a breakdown.
Turning now to the fourth category discussed above, devices configured to undulate in the wind simulate to a greater extent the movement of fish, birds, and the like, and are displayed in places such as lawns, patio areas, in front of windows, or even inside houses near open windows. Although there are numerous prior art embodiments within the first three categories, the field of undulating ornaments/decoys is quite limited and presently incorporates compound design structures.
An undulating mobile is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,888 to Gomez. The '888 patent discloses a fish-shaped mobile or “wind sculpture” wherein a fish is segmented into sections and the sections are joined by a string. The mobile further incorporates weights secured to the segmented portions to maintain a vertical arrangement and draw the strings taunt. Due to the discontinuity between sections, the fish sways in the wind. Because of the numerous string attachments in the mobile, as well as balancing of the weights, assembly is tedious. Also, the assembly of numerous parts increases cost.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an undulating mobile that comprises few parts and is easily constructed.